Rajab (Arabic:رَجَب) is the seventh month of theIslamic calendar. The lexical definition of theclassical Arabic verbrajaba is "to respect",[1] which could also mean "be awe or be in fear", of which Rajab is a derivative.
This month is regarded as one of the four sacred months (includingMuharram,Dhu al-Qadah andDhu al-Hijjah) in Islam in which battles are prohibited. Thepre-Islamic Arabs also considered warfare to be blasphemous during these four months.[1]
The word "Rajab" came fromrajūb (رجوب), the sense of veneration or glorification, and Rajab was also formerly calledMudhar because the tribe ofMudhar did not change it but rather expected its time to be different than the rest of the Arabs, who changed and altered the months according to the state of war.
The name of Rajab literally means respected, regarded, and admired. It seems that the word is originally aSemitic one. There are two important events during the month, namely the birthday ofAli ibn Abi Talib andMuhammad's first revelation in Shia tradition. There are other names for the month, such as Rajab Al-Morrajjab, Rajab Al-Asab, and Rajab Sharif.
The27th of Rajab is traditionally associated in parts of the Muslim world with theIsraʾ and Miʿraj, the night journey and ascension of theProphet Muhammad. Classical Islamic sources, includinghadith collections and early historical works such as those ofal-Ṭabarī,[2] record accounts of the event, though they differ regarding its exact date.[3] Many Muslim communities observe the 27th of Rajab withprayers,sermons, or devotional gatherings, but scholars note that there is no consensus in early Islamic tradition that the event occurred specifically on this day.[4] While bothSunni andShia scholars affirm the occurrence of theIsraʾ and Miʿraj, not all agree on its precise timing, with some considering the 27th of Rajab a later popular attribution rather than a firmly established date.[5][6]
7 Rajab:Twelvers observe the Festival of Imam Musa al-Kazim in dedication ofMusā' al-Kādhim. This is so as to avoid missing celebrating the birth of the seventh imam, which took place in Safar.
22 Rajab, In India and Pakistan, Koonday (tablecloth dinner) is organized. It is an occasion for Muslims to discussAllah and theAhlul Bayt and to strengthen ties among the Sunni Sufi community with love and compassion.
^al-Ṭabarī (1989).Taʾrīkh al-rusul wa’l-mulūk [History of the Prophets and Kings]. Translated by Rosenthal, Franz. Albany: State University of New York Press.ISBN978-0-7914-7249-1.
^Ibn Kathīr (1985).al-Bidāya wa’l-nihāya [The Beginning and the End]. Beirut: Dar al-Fikr.
^Brown, Jonathan A.C. (2009).Hadith: Muhammad’s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World. Oxford: Oneworld Publications.ISBN978-1-85168-663-6.
